


That was the worst.

by originalginger



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Angst, But god I need this reunion like yesterday, F/M, Fix-It, I haven't written anything in years and it shows, One Shot, Spoilers, The Cruel King spoilers, post-The Cruel King
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 04:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17615783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/originalginger/pseuds/originalginger
Summary: I released a silent exhale and pressed the blade of my dagger against his pale throat.“Wake up,” I demanded.Our favorite duo reunites some time after the end of The Cruel King.





	That was the worst.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in forever.  
> But don't be gentle.  
> Tell me where I messed up so I can write better next time.
> 
> ~Enjoy~

It still threw me how peaceful he looked when he slept.

Before it was a kind of awe, at how different Cardan seemed.

Now it was anger, simmering below the surface of my skin. How can he- how _dare_ he sleep so peacefully after everything he’d done?

I released a silent exhale and pressed the blade of my dagger against his pale throat.

“Wake up,” I demanded, my voice low and bitter. He startled and snapped awake. There was the initial jolt of wakefulness, and then another when he saw just who was sitting next to him on the bed.

“Jude,” he whispered, his tone almost reverent. It was barely audible, as if he didn’t believe I was really here. So I pressed the dagger a little harder against his throat to prove it to him. He hissed as the blade bit his skin.

“What are you doing here?” His eyebrows drew together, the wonder giving way to anger and suspicion.

“Same as last time, Cardan,” I said, saying his name like it was a curse. “Someone sent me here, thinking they could get me to kill you.” I tried not to think of what happened next, the last time. When he rolled me over, looking so relaxed...

His expression now remained irritated, but when he glanced down at the dagger, I could see the wariness in his eyes. We stared each other down for a second longer, when finally I took the dagger away from his throat.

“Luckily for you, I’m still not easily swayed.” I stood and took a few paces from the bed, not wanting to look at his face any longer.

“Then again I ask, what _are_ you doing here?” he demanded, though his voice stayed low. He may have been angry with me, but he still didn’t want the guards to know I was here. Interesting.

“Warning you,” I said, my back still to hime. “Madoc’s not content to wait. He’s coming for your head.” Cardan was silent. I glanced back over my shoulder. He was looking at me, still trying to piece together my purpose for being here. I turned my head away.

“If he comes for my head, there will be no one to place the crown on Oak’s.”

To that, I gave a bitter laugh.

“Oh, but there is.” The anger that simmered before was bubbling now. I turned back to face him.

“You see, Cardan, you may have embarrassed me and denied me in front of your whole court, but when Madoc heard what happened, he knew exactly which of us was telling the truth that day.” Cardan’s expression turned furious and he stood. (He was clothed, I noted, unlike last time.)

“So that’s the plan then? Have you murder me then crown your brother?” A dark laugh. “I find it hard to believe that Madoc didn’t see the gaping flaw in this scheme. What makes him think you’d just give up the crown?”

“What makes you think I still want it?” I spat.

That threw him off balance. The fury fell from his face, leaving just confusion. I suppressed a hysterical laugh and pressed forward.

“Do you really think I’m foolish enough to think I could rule after this? Yes, I’m sure all of Fairy will have no problem bowing to a queen that murdered the last two of Eldred’s sons.” He blanched and looked away.

“So you do plan to kill me.” I paused. His voice sounded resigned. And hurt.

“No.” He didn’t turn his head, but his eyes flicked to mine. “No, I didn’t come here to kill you. Like I said, I came to warn you. I can tell you what the rest of his plan was, but I don’t know what he’ll do now that I’ve gone against him.” He considered this. I looked to him and swallowed my nerves.

“And I came to ask you to lift my banishment,” I said. He faced me fully again, his face contorting once more with anger.

“You sneak into my bedroom, hold a blade against my throat, and then ask for clemency?!”

“I didn’t have to come and warn you! I could have turned down Madoc’s generous offer to let me kill the bastard who made me a laughing-stock and ripped me away from my home, but instead I took the opportunity to warn said bastard!” We stared at each other, furious.

But my fury couldn’t last so long. Staring into his black eyes, I was reminded of the nights I spent thinking of that cruel face. Missing it. Thinking I’d give almost anything to see it again.

“Look,” I said, breaking the heavy silence. “If you never want to see me again, that’s fine. The Court of Termites have offered me a place among them should my banishment be lifted. Allow me to come back to Fairy, and I’ll never bother you again.” He looked away again, his anger lessening to irritation. He said nothing so I continued.

“You once said I didn’t belong in Fairy; that I never did. Well, if I ever belonged in the mortal realm, I certainly don’t now. I can’t exactly carry a sword with me everywhere. Let me come back here so I can at least defend myself.” He guffawed incredulously.

“‘Defend yourself’? Against what?”

“Against your subjects who decide to top off their holiday to the mortal realm by attacking the mortal girl who got stuck there.”

“What do you mean?” his voice was low; angry, but I suspected not at me.

“I was thrown out of your realm. They every reason to believe that what they do to me will have no consequences,” I said, thinking back to what he said after I returned from the Undersea. My tone turned jovial. “And you more than anyone should know what a delight it is to torment me. They just want to have the same kind of fun you did.” I saw his face give the slightest twitch; I was getting to him.

“But now they’re going too far. A group of them came to where we lived. We moved, but it’s only a matter of time before another gaggle finds us and Oak gets caught in the middle. You may not care about me, but he’s your nephew.”

“Who says I don’t care about you?” He sounded, and looked, so sincere. The words stung, like pressing on a bruise.

“I do. You made me look like a fool. You-” I shook my head sadly.

“Of all the things you’ve done to me, Cardan, that was the worst.”

“Jude-” he began, stepping forward. I stepped back, looking to the floor. He stopped his advance.

“Cardan, I am asking you- I am _begging_ you. Let me come home.” I pushed on, even as my voice started to give away the despair I felt. “End my banishment, end this sham of a marriage, and you’ll never have to see me again.” From the corner of my eye, I saw his fist clench.

“No.” My head snapped up to look at him, and I felt the tears sting my eyes. His face was folded once more in anger.

“No? Why not?!”

He visibly swallowed, but his expression stayed the same.

“Cardan, why?! Have I not suffered enough?!” He stalked right up to me, and grabbed my wrists in his hands. I tried to pull away, but he held fast.

“This marriage does not end until we both wish it, and I do not.”

“Why? What do you get out of being married to me?! I’m just a liability; a convenient opening for someone to kill you for the throne.” He shook his head.

“Jude –”

“Why, Cardan? Why...”

“Don’t make me say it,” he whispered. I stared at him.

“What are you talking about?” I whispered back. He looked me dead in the eye, almost pleading in his stare.

“Jude, you know what I mean –”

“No, I don’t –”

“Jude.” He looked down. His hands released my wrists, only to slide up to take my hands.

“Jude.” He brought one hand to his mouth, kissing one of my knuckles, and then did the same with the other. He looked up again, his black eyes boring right into mine.

“Jude, I have thought of you every day.” How could he sound so sincere? How could he stand there, after all he’d put me through, and say things like this?

“I thought– I thought sending you to the mortal realm would keep you safe.” A hysterical laugh jumped out of me. His expression was rueful. “I didn’t think that you’d be targeted. If I had known... Well, I don’t know what I would have done, but please believe me I never wanted you harmed.”

“No, you just wanted me to look like a foolish girl in front of all of Fairy.” I saw him swallow.

“I had to reassert my sovereignty. I couldn’t have people whispering that you were pulling the strings behind the throne.”

“And you couldn’t have told me? Told me what you were doing?”

“So you could foil my plan? No. But I never meant to harm you –”

“You _smiled_. You _smiled_ as everyone laughed at me, as they dragged me away. Don’t you dare try to tell me you care for me when you –”

“I love you, Jude.”

Silence.

“No you don’t.”

“I cannot lie.”

“But you – you don’t love me! You _hate_ me!”

“I never said I hated you. That was always you.”

I floundered, searching for something to say. His expression looked so open, so genuine. I gave another hysterical laugh.

“If this is how you show love, then I’m not sure I want it.” He closed his eyes like I’d slapped him. Then one corner of his mouth quirked, and he looked back at me.

“But you’re not sure.” He smiled deviously and I looked down away from his eyes.

“Cardan –”

“Come home, Jude. Not to the Court of Termites; to me.” I took a shaky breath. “No more tricks. Let me be a proper husband to you.” I shut my eyes, almost trying to block him out. Part of me was ready to yank my hands away and leave, but a larger part _wanted_ to be persuaded to stay.

“Give me one year.” I opened my eyes to see his imploring mine. “Give me one year to prove myself to you.” I considered him for a moment, then gave a small smile.

“One year and one day. And not a minute more.” His grin stretched a hair wider. He kissed my hands again.

“We shall see about that.”


End file.
